F5

[zankoku_zen]

A refreshing scent! GET IT?! Aloe, white musk, lime peel, fresh mint, seaspray, verbena and green tea.

In the imp: Fresh smelling and green vibes

On Skin: Clean and refreshing. The verbena is the most prominent note.

On Drydown: Still clean and refreshing. The verbena calms down a bit and I get a bit of the sea spray.

Verdict: Fresh and very clean. So clean in fact, it reminds me to dryer sheets! It's a soft and comforting scent... but I'm not sure I'd like it as a perfume. I can see this being a great room scent, or using it to scent laundry products with.

[Demeter]

Source: Bottle

 

Initial Impressions I admit it, I got it because of the description. I love puns.

 

Bottle: The green tea and lime are the first to come out and various friends who sniff it go off on the fact that it smells like a fresh shower. Very popular when I went to SE Asia this winter! We dropped it everywhere!

 

Wet: I personally love it, mostly because it smells like me after a good scrub in the shower. Whee!

 

Drydown: The tea fades very quickly, but that’s fine with me, since I don’t really want to smell like tea all that much. I adore citrus scents, though, so the lime and mint are coming out in full force and it’s kind of nice to smell ‘cool’ in such hot, humid weather. (Japan is freezing right now, but it was a nice mugginess in Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam.)

 

Dry: I don’t get the white musk at all; it’s lime, lime, lime, lime!

 

Overall: YAY LIME. Lasts a decent amount of time, though the throw is a bit weak compared to other scents I’ve tried.

 

I finished writing this BEFORE the accident. And by accident, I mean I dropped the bottle on my living room floor and in my haste to catch it and right the bottle up, more spilled and... I lost all of it. I have a few drops left and that's it. It got all over a coffee table, the carpet (lucky the carpet's dark and decorated!) and my room smelled like F5 for a looooong time.

[Mimicake]

This one smelled very citrus fruit to me moreso than tea-like. A sweeter citrus, refreshing with that lime hint. Overall I really like this one.

[Eemia]

This is exactly what I think of when I picture a clean and refreshing scent. It's light, airy, and slightly green. I can't stop smelling myself when I wear this. I have been absolutely melting all week visiting my parents in Southern California (it's around 100 degrees right now yikes!), and wore this a few days in a row b/c I felt so much more breezy and less sticky. I love this so much, and am putting this in my top ten list!!

 

Starts out as fresh aloe and musk with a very light citrus. It's not a sharp or tangy citrus, and there isn't even a hint of bitterness from the lime peel. It's very rounded out and mellow...this is definitely a citrus that is playing second string to the aloe and white musk.

 

Dries down much the same but without the citrus. Mainly a clean musk with a touch of the green notes. Like laying down in cool, fresh white sheets minus that "linen" type scent. I wish this was a GC fragrance so I could have it all the time in mass quantities.

[bulletslc]

Yum!

 

On me the lime, mint and green tea blend well and are grounded by the musk. The Aloe adds a titch of bitterness...making this a bit masculine.

 

It lasts a long time on me, but the throw is moderate.

A very nice blend for summer--I agree with those who say its like a perfume version of mojitos!

[modernsaints]

I don't necessarily get 'lime' or 'mint' out of this - just a very nicely blended 'clean' scent. There's nothing laundry-like about it, though, which is lovely; it's just fresh air, with a hint of green freshness. Entirely natural and soft; it stays close to the skin, but I really like that here.

 

Very happy I've got half a bottle!

[funkmoppet]

I think I just may adore this.

 

I'm discovering that I'm a fan of these notes. Wet, this is delicious aloe, mint and lemon - and once on the skin the lime peeks out, as does the green tea. Scrumptious and fresh.

 

On the dry-down, the green tea comes the fore, followed by the white musk. Its utterly divine. Still fresh, but with that wondrous warmth from the musk.

 

So very glad I have a bottle.

Edited August 2, 2007 by funkmoppet

[alicia_stardust]

I so desperately wanted to like this scent, and in the bottle it is very nice, but on my skin I smell the sharp tang of dryer sheets. I will swap this to someone that will love it.

[JennyGardener]

F5 is a clean, refreshing scent. I think it's rather sporty, like riding in a convertible to the beach with the top down. It's absolutely wonderful in the bottle, but turns to soap on me. A nice, clean, refreshing soap. But still soap. Like Irish Spring. Definitely a pick-me-up, wake-me-up scent for the right person.

[Catmint]

I bought this because the list of notes sounded so yummy and everyone said it smelled like mojitos. Lime, mint, and green tea are three of my favorite scents, so I was expecting this to smell really fresh and fruity. Alas, I didn't get any lime or mint or tea from it at all....

 

IMP: Cleaning product with a vague artificial citrus smell.

 

WET: Very soapy, like an expensive laundry product you might get at Williams & Sonoma.

 

DRY: After about an hour of smelling like I'm wearing a dryer sheet, it settles into a faint clean, ozoney smell. Smells better on my husband, actually -- a little sweeter and cleaner & more citrusy. He likes it a lot and says it reminds him a bit of Signoricci. Not much throw or staying power, it's mostly gone after about 3 hours. I bought a bottle of this unsniffed (sob), so I will let him use it up.

[Browneyes]

(thanks delicate_fangs!)

 

Short review: clean and light

 

In depth: Before reading the notes I tried this on, and felt like it immediately reminded me of something I have tried before. I think it may be Elizabeth Arden's green tea line?

Unfortunately, I get none of the lime or mint, maybe it's because they have faded completely from the oil by now. I do get a sweet and pale musky green tea, with extra green-ness from the aloe. It's quite lovely. Not as refreshing as I would expect, but since the lime and mint aren't there for me, I guess that makes sense.

My only doubt is that it smells alot like something else - possibly Elizabeth Arden - and that makes me feel like it is somewhat generic perfumey. Really glad to have tried it though!

[usamimi]

In the imp: light and citrusy, but with a bitterness...almost like a tea smell.

 

Wet: Almost mojito-like! But with a kind of floral edge.

 

Dry: This dried up on me very quickly, and turned almost...musk-ish at the end, but still in a light, citrusy kinda way. Overall, I liked it, but probably not enough to wear it on a regular basis.

[MaidenGenevive]

F5

 

In vial, aloe and citrus. Wet on skin, very light and clean. Predominately citrus, paired with a quieter aloe. The other notes are much fainter, although clearly present as part of the whole. Overall, I can't help but think of dish detergent. As it dries, the aloe and mint amp up, changing the dish detergent into toothpaste.

 

[3 - Like] Refreshing, like ice cold lemonade, but unmistakably clean to the default of smelling like cleaners or toothpaste.

[jessu]

Woah. In the bottle it's all citrus green tea- very fresh.

 

After about an hour though, it smells exactly like Curve for men. Luckily, that's one of my favorites, and what the boy wears, so I have a feeling we might share this one!

 

(And thankfully the mint never makes an appearance.)

 

 

So weird. I can't get over my smell right now.

[Honeygirl]

Bottle: mint and lime

 

Wet: Mm, light lime, tea and a bit of mint. Verbena also.

 

Drydown: This is yummy. It's so light it feels like a summer scent. It stays the same on me, which is great.

4.0 outta 5

[Lethran]

Being unable to tolerate mint on my skin, I just sniffed this one lightly. It's fresh mint, which I tolerate fairly well compared to some of the others and it is mixed really well here into a really pleasing blend. It is pretty much as advertised, light and refreshing with the tea, lemon and aloe complimenting the mint well and the seaspray adding a hint of breeze and space. The musk is faint, but I bet would come out better on skin. If I could wear mint this would be the one.

[waternight]

Oh, F5, where have you been all my life???

 

In the bottle: Light and fresh, green tea, a bit of lemon, and a teensy bit of mint.

Wet: First on, this is incredibly similar to Embalming Fluid, all delicious green tea. After a few seconds, the lemony notes show up and blend gorgeously with the tea. The mint really behaves itself, staying decidedly backstage, but peeping through once in a while. What really makes this, though, is the seaspray - it adds a deliciously sharp salty note, cutting through the smooth sweetness of the tea.

Dry: The salty note fades a bit, but it's still there. This is a gorgeous, salty-lemony-green tea scent. LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE.

[spiralmissy]

In the bottle

F5 is the definition of clean and crisp smelling. I can't really differentiate any notes - just adjectives come to mind - sunny, breezy, aquatic, crisp sheets and sunlight with french doors open to a sunny overlook of the Pacific Ocean - with clothes drying on the line. Northern California or Oregon in summer.

 

Wet on skin

Smells precisely like Irish Spring without any associated false soapy smell. Like, what a bathroom smells like after someone has taken a long shower using Irish Spring. OR sundried laundry - but not the FAKE bottled detergent smell of fresh linen, etc. but what clothes REALLY smell like after drying on the line in the early summer sun.

 

Dry

Still fresh. I got no musk, mint or aloe and just a touch of green tea. Mostly the verbana and seaspray, with a little lime.

 

Conclusion

While the smell is lovely, I do not think it is one for me. I might break it out when I simply want to smell clean all day long. This would be a great product to use to freshen a room or linens I think.

 

For general usage/likeability of scent: 8/10

For personal usage: 6/10

[alchemilla]

This is similar to Embalming Fluid, as other reviewers have said. In fact, F5 includes all (roughly) the ingredients of EF: white musk, aloe, green tea, and lemon (verbena in F5). Essentially, it's a base of EF with added lime, light mint, and seaspray. Good idea, Beth.

 

I'm currently wearing both, and I think I love them equally. Wet, EF is much stronger than F5, but they even up after a couple of hours. They are both the coolest (temp, not Dude) citrus blends I've found. In F5, I can still smell EF's lemon and tea. They're not overwhelmed by lime and mint, but a nice balance of all (and I'm not a big fan of mint). Definitely more complex than EF. On drydown, the seaspray makes its appearance as a slight saltiness.

 

I'm thrilled to have found this, the lime blend I've been searching for. And although supplies will eventually run out, I'll still be able to get Embalming Fluid as a close substitute.

[Silverstrike]

This was kind of like some sort of cleaning spray on me. It was quite astringent, and typically I prefer scents that have a little sweetness in them. This wasn't it, but it was nice to try.

[dixiehellcat]

I swapped for this. Opened the bottle and squealed "CK1!!". It really reminds me of that, with a simllar crisp bright sort-of-androgynous but without going totally guy. The herbs and mint and overall clean smell muscle out any aquatic notes, which is great because aquatics are not my friends. It's November as I write, and this is going in a nice safe place til next summer when it will rock.

[twilighteyes]

In the bottle:

Very faint. Getting a little bit of aloe.

 

Wet on skin:

Picking up some musk, lime, lemon verbena, and maybe some of the tea.

 

Dry on skin:

Limey. But kind of a musky lime with a tea bottom note. Clean and light.

[gchris]

In Vial: Very Lovely I smell a hint of lemon, mint and light perfume

 

 

Wet: Quite citrus-y. I smell the green tea in the background. This is very nice.

The green tea note is getting stronger and is almost overtaking the other notes.

 

Drydown: This is not super sweet and is herbal. It is a really great blend. I don't know that I am getting any of the lime, if so it is barely there. It does smell fresh, clean. I do smell the seaspray but does not make this scent smell 'aquatic', just fresh with a light green, marine life sort of feel.

[SarahScent44]

In the bottle, I get - seaspray! and the lemon verbena - it's gorgeous!!

 

Once I put it on my skin, I get the lime in addition to the sea spray (which I had no idea what I would think of it, but I love it!!), backed up by the verbena.

 

When it dries, there's just a hint of the sea spray left, over the tea - very subtle, very refined. Wonderful!

[tziporra]

Oh, I am so glad I swapped for a 5ml of this!!!!!!

 

In the bottle it's all lime. On I get lime and mint and tea, which doesn't surprise me. And it smells like Lancome's AromaTonic (the green one) which I lovelovelove. But with mint, which is fine with me.

 

Usually these sea things go all masculine on me, but this one is fantastically feminine and fruity on me. Round and happy (just like me these days!).

 

A definite keeper. I can hardly wait to make it into a body spray!!! Perfect for post-shower.

 

Best,

 

Tzi